IV

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Arc IV Chapter 4

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“I hope you have good heat resistance, Lee, because you will need it.” Asami formed a hand seal and took a deep breath. Her lips released a stream of fire. A giant fireball turned the room into a sea of wild flames and scorching heat. The very air burned in a blaze of glory. The fireball exploded and the arena trembled.

 

Lee dodged her attack relatively unscathed, suffering only a few scorch marks.  Lee coughed, panting. He had escaped her wrath, but not for long.

 

Asami snapped her fingers and created a torrent of fire. Wild purple flames surrounded her, dancing around their only true mistress. Her lips mustered a dark smile, a sweet smile that promised nothing but pain and suffering. “Just for information, Lee, my offer still stands. It's not the first time that I have crisped some little genin who didn't know better.

 

Lee, have you perchance ever witnessed people being burned alive? It's a horrible way to die. Painful, slow, vindictive. Truly, a death you wish nobody ...” Icy silence befell the arena. Nobody said a word. All eyes were focused on her and mouths hang agape.

 

“Hehehe ...” Asami laughed. Maybe she had talked a bit too much. Not that she cared.

 

Lee gulped. “Are you serious? Do you really ... burn people alive?”

 

Asami started pondering, her index finger tipping her lips. “Well, maybe, maybe not ... But you have to give me credit for my acting skills ... I was pretty convincing, wasn't it?”

 

“What?”

“WHAT!?”

“What!?”

“Whaaaatttt?”

 

“What?” Lee blinked in confusion.  He didn't understand the world any more.

 

“Anyway, death on the battlefield comes swift, my friend. Be careful to not get burned.” Asami smiled and sent her fire forth to destroy him. Her fire obeyed. Her attack caught Lee off guard, as Asami exploited his lapse of concentration brutally. Purple beams bombarded his position, nearly obliterating him.

 

The beams burned through everything in their way, filling the arena with an inferno of detonations. Lee ran for his life, trying not to get caught up in the blasts.

 

Her bombardment ended and Lee looked at where he stood before. A deep crater greeted him. He gulped.

 

“Are you ready for the next round?” Asami smiled, playing the innocent girl. More chakra gathered, and multiple beams locked onto him. He was their target.

 

This was the moment Lee made his decision. He unravelled the bandages around his legs and removed a pair of weights. “I am sorry, Guy-sensei, but I have to take them off. I hope you agree with my choice.”

 

Asami crossed her arms. “A pair of weights? Isn't that a bit old-fashioned? Do you seriously think that will change anything, Lee?”

 

“It will.” Lee dropped the weights, and they shook the ground. The earth trembled.

 

Asami stumbled. What was this? Lee closed the distance in an instant. Lee was fast, incredibly fast. He attacked her from point blank, forcing her to block.

 

Asami processed the shock. For the first time since years, she was directly challenged. She was actually forced to block, as her immediate options were limited.

 

Lee's kick connected and Asami flinched. He retreated and attacked once again, but this time Asami was better prepared. This time, he paid for his arrogance. Her explosions also had a defensive use.

 

Asami grinned. Lee overestimated his speed. He wasn't the only one who fought at high speeds. He didn't know, but he competed with a sharingan user.

 

Lee charged. He attacked head on, as predicted. And as predicted, he hit the purple spheres she surrounded herself with. He had walked right into her little minefield.

 

The spheres detonated and Lee took the full brunt of the explosion. His attack had failed. Asami took the opportunity. Without remorse, she kicked Lee straight in his balls, breaking his defence. She rammed her knee with all force into his unprotected stomach. Not once, not twice, but thrice. Lee collapsed and Asami finished him with a brutal elbow, shattering his back. His bones cracked.

 

Lee hit the ground. He didn't move. The match was finally over. That was what Asami believed. That was what the audience believed. They were wrong. He proved them all wrong. He rose and continued the fight. Despite beating him to a bloody pulp, he was standing again. Asami didn't believe her eyes. Lee simply refused to go down. No matter what, he kept fighting.

 

Asami clenched her fist. Anger and frustration welled up inside her. Once again, he escaped his fate. Why was it so fucking difficult to beat him? Why was it so fucking difficult to defeat a single genin? She was an ANBU. She was Asami.

 

This match had become a matter of honour, and she would finish this now. May the gods have mercy on Lee, because she wouldn’t.

 

Asami grabbed two kunai, her katon turning their blades into a stream of vibrating purple plasma. She blitzed across the arena. She didn't miss. Lee didn't resist. He could barely stand, not to mention defend himself.

 

Asami struck her kunai through his left and right femur. Her plasma evaporated nerves, tendons, muscles and bone alike. Lee cried out in pain. He broke down.

 

It was over. Lee was defeated. His legs refused to move. But even then Lee struggled to stand up again. He tried, and tried, and tried, even when he was doomed to fail. His stubbornness was Lee's most powerful weapon, but also the reason for his downfall. Today; he suffered the consequences.

 

Asami shook her head. She had seen enough of this senseless tragedy. “Hayate, end this match. I think everyone has seen enough.”

 

“As much as I would like to, I can’t. The participant isn't fully incapacitated yet. And I doubt he has any intention to withdraw ...”

 

Asami narrowed her eyes. “You seem to misunderstand, Hayate, my words weren’t a mere suggestion. I mean what I say, the match ends right here, and right now. I have had enough of this farce.”

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